1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to adjustable chairs, and more particularly to an adjustable chair device for supporting a user in either a traditional seated position in which the legs of the user rest upon the floor, or in a relaxed seated position in which the legs of the user are lifted off the floor.
2. Description of Related Art
Various devices have been developed to support the human body in a restful and comfortable position. Ullman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,459, teaches a working chair that supports the person seated in the chair by both the ischium and the lower thighs. Czaplak, U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,708, teaches a posture support device that supports the user""s thighs to correctly position the user""s spine in a squatting posture.
Traditional chair devices provide leg and foot supports to comfortably support the user""s legs. Examples of such devices are shown in Armstrong, U.S. Pat. No. 868,633 (chair with extensible footrest), Latimer, U.S. Pat. No. 902,092 (extension foot rest), Batt, U.S. Pat. No. 1,952,963 (rocking chair and leg rest), Breuer, U.S. Pat. No. 2,215,540 (chair with leg support), Ludersen, U.S. Pat. No. 2,248,369 (pivoting leg rest for supporting an injured leg), Paul, U.S. Pat. No. 5,238,296 (foot rocker), Wade et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,020 (hydraulic extendable leg rest), Peters, U.S. Pat. No. 4,427,234 (leg rest that supports both the feet and the thighs), Brooks, U.S. Pat. No. 2,225,818 (automobile leg rest that supports the calves of the driver), and Fuerst, U.S. Pat. No. 2,912,046 (adjustable ottoman).
A popliteal support device, shown in Butler, U.S. Pat. No. 3,167,351, discloses a device useful in automobiles to provide additional support to the popliteal region (behind the knee) of the user""s legs while driving. While this device supports the popliteal region of the user""s legs, this device can""t be adjusted to support the user""s legs off the ground. Similar to Butler, various chairs disclosed in the prior art include a front cushion that is pivotally attached to the base of the chair, thereby enabling the front cushion to pivot upwards for supporting the legs of the user. Examples are shown in Scholin et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,185, Mawbey, U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,248, and Kousaka, U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,155. These automobile seats are only designed to provide partial support to the legs of the user. These seats are not designed to lift the legs of the user off the ground; and indeed, since the driver of the automobile will be sitting in these seats, they cannot be designed to lift the legs of the user off the ground, or the user would not be able to operate the gas pedal and the brake of the vehicle.
The only device that teaches lifting a user""s legs off of the ground is the protective device disclosed in Witter, U.S. Pat. No. 2,943,866. This device is not designed to support the user""s legs in a more comfortable position for traveling, but to thrust the user""s knees upwards in the event of an automobile accident.
The devices shown in the prior art do not offer maximum comfort for a passenger, especially a passenger in a bus or airplane where there is little space available for the legs of the passenger. The very limited space between the airplane or bus seat-rows does not leave much legroom. Several airlines have been dealing seriously with this issue, investing tens of millions of dollars in attempts to add a little room (4 inches) to passenger legs. However, this would not solve the real cause for passenger suffering, which is the prolonged, motionless sitting in an unsuitable chair, rather than lack of leg room. Another disadvantage of the above-described devices is that users with long legs often do not receive sufficient support under their lower thighs, an important aspect of comfort to the user. The lack of movement resulting from being confined to one""s seat might contribite to medical conditions such as deep-vein thrombosis, a condition which can be fatal.
An advantage of the present chair device is that it may mitigate the danger of the phenomenon called xe2x80x9cEconomy-Class-Syndromexe2x80x9d (deep-vein thrombosis). The functional adjustability of the chair device, according to the present invention, considerably improve passenger physical well-being and facilitate travelling considerably. A passenger can change his or her sitting angle by lifting his or her legs to various heights, and even lift his or her legs completely from the floor of the aircraft, bus, or other vehicle. The mere lifting of the legs off the floor reduces muscle pressure and tension, significantly improving the passenger""s feeling of well-being. The narrow passage between two rows of seats poses no problem to users of the new chair device since the seat is especially designed to operate in these limited spaces. Even tall passengers can enjoy the features of the chair device.
The prior art teaches the desirability of properly supporting the legs of a user while the user is in a seated position. However, the prior art does not teach a chair device that can be vertically adjusted to support the user""s legs off of the floor. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.
The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below.
The present invention provides an adjustable chair device and method of use for supporting a user in either a traditional seated position in which a pair of legs of the user rest upon a floor, or in a relaxed seated position in which the legs of the user are supported above the floor. The chair device includes a base supporting an aft cushion assembly, a forward cushion assembly, and an upwardly extending seat back which cooperate to support the user in a seated position. The forward cushion assembly is adjustably attached to the aft cushion assembly. The chair device further includes a means for adjusting the vertical position of the forward upwardly facing surface, with respect to the aft upwardly facing surface, such that the legs of the user are supported off of the ground.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide an adjustable chair device having advantages not taught by the prior art.
Another objective is to provide a chair device having a means for adjusting the horizontal position of the forward cushion assembly to contact the lower thigh portion of the legs of the user and a means for adjusting the vertical position of the forward cushion assembly, with respect to the aft cushion assembly, to support the legs of the user in either a traditional seated position in which a pair of legs of the user rest upon a floor, or in a relaxed seated position in which the legs of the user are lifted off the floor.
Another objective is to provide a chair device that offers more freedom of movement for the legs of the user without the need of more space. This is particularly advantageous for seats in airplanes and long distance busses where the space for the user""s legs is limited as a result of which there is a risk of deep vein thrombosis in the user""s legs.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.